Cyclical SD Stories: Ebenezer Church

By: Cyclical SD February 20, 2019February 20, 2019 featured, Resources, Starters, Story, VideofeaturedLeave a Comment

Our friends at Ebenezer Church have just been featured in a new video and article by the Presbyterian Mission Agency! In the video below, the powerful impact of Ebenezer’s ministry can be seen in the stories of local partners such as Stephanie Brown (Principal of Montgomery Middle STEAM Magnet School) and Christopher Nayve (University of…

Be a Part of the Story of Cyclical

By: Cyclical SD February 19, 2019February 19, 2019 ChurchesfeaturedLeave a Comment

Since September 2017, when Cyclical San Diego launched, we have seen the Cyclical network begin multiplying all around the country — and even several in Canada! The work we do here — helping Discerners discover their call to start a new church, coming alongside Starters for effective mission and ministry, and inviting established churches to…

Our Unique Calling & Vocation: How to Find Your Voice

By: Cyclical SD January 24, 2019January 24, 2019 Discerners, featured, Resourcesdiscern, dream, featured, voiceLeave a Comment

At Cyclical San Diego, we believe in the kind of spiritual formation that shapes leaders who can listen to, discern, and respond to God’s voice. Healthy leaders understand their calling and vocation from Christ — at their core, as beloved people of God, and lived out vocationally in numerous ways. One of the hallmarks of…

New Awareness, New Opportunities

By: Cyclical SD August 28, 2018August 28, 2018 featured, Resources, StartersfeaturedLeave a Comment

The following is a guest post from Jason Evans, Missioner for Missional Communities for the Episcopal Diocese of Texas, and is used with permission. This article originally appeared here. On the subject of prayer, C.S. Lewis is quoted saying, “It doesn’t change God. It changes me.” Lewis knew that the regular activity of prayer changed…

Simple Ways Established Churches Can Be a Part of Starting New Churches

By: Cyclical SD February 16, 2018 Churches, ResourcesfeaturedLeave a Comment

As established churches, leaders, and pastors begin to catch a vision for furthering the life cycle of new churches, one of the first things they ask is, “How can I help?” Often, this is accompanied by a statement something like this, “We might not be able to contribute financially, but we’d still like to be…

Church Buildings and New Movements

By: Cyclical SD February 1, 2018 Resources, StartersfeaturedLeave a Comment

In a recent article and podcast, Carey Nieuwhof interviewed Graham Singh, Executive Director of Church Planting Canada. Although their context in Canada is different from our experience in San Diego, their discussion about the challenge and possibilities of empty church buildings is relevant to our dream of starting new churches throughout the city and county. These questions, in…

4 Steps for Discerning God’s Mission

By: Cyclical SD December 5, 2017December 4, 2017 Discerners, featured, ResourcesfeaturedLeave a Comment

The following is adapted from an article by Brendan McClenahan, Director of Cyclical West Michigan, and is used with permission. If you’ve ever imagined starting a new church, you know the excitement of new vision. You begin to imagine how things in your neighborhood might look a little more like the kingdom of God. You can’t…

Start Today

By: Cyclical SD October 31, 2017October 31, 2017 featured, ResourcesfeaturedLeave a Comment

The following is a guest post from Jason Evans, Missioner for Missional Communities for the Episcopal Diocese of Texas, and is used with permission. Often, I hear questions such as, “Is this a fresh expression?” “Is that a missional community?” “Is this a church plant?” I tend to think that categories with more elasticity are better than…

Discerners

The cycle begins with discerning a call to starting a new church. This holy process can be simultaneously exhilarating and overwhelming. We invite discerners into two requirements to work through all aspects of discerning a call to start a new church. First, we invite you to join a discerners group. We have found that the work…

Starters

The cycle continues through empowering starters to begin building healthy church communities. The second stage of our threefold cycle of starting new churches is dedicated to the starters. These practitioners have done the work of discernment and have begun the work of starting a new church. While the call of starting a new church…

Churches

The natural, historical cycle of God’s mission continues through churches in the third stage of our threefold cycle. Discerners become starters, and starters start churches. These churches, as time passes and as God blesses, move into moments of sustainability — in mission, administration, and the health of the leadership. It is on the journey into…

The Vision of Cyclical San Diego

By: Cyclical SD October 15, 2017October 17, 2017

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Our team identifies and supports discerning church starters, church starters and existing churches as they join the mission of God through the natural and historical lifecycle of starting new churches. This growing collective of leaders is an ecumenical community of innovators that share a common culture and set of practices created to thoughtfully start new churches across San Diego.

Welcome to Cyclical San Diego

By: Cyclical SD October 19, 2017October 20, 2017

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See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. — Isaiah 43:19 We are thankful for the vision of the Presbytery of San Diego to see church planting as an essential part of its mission moving…

The Plant vs. The Garden

By: Cyclical SD October 19, 2017October 20, 2017

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Our region has been on the front edge of the PCUSA with regard to starting new churches. For this, I am grateful and feel proud to be a part of such a community. The various “plants” that we have accomplished have been changing the landscape of Los Angeles into a place ever becoming like that…

Why 50 Churches of 100 Are Better Than 1 Church of 5,000

By: Cyclical SD October 19, 2017October 20, 2017

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In his insightful article 11 Advantages Of Having 50 Churches Of 100 Instead Of 1 Church Of 5,000, Karl Vaters makes the compelling argument that big churches are not the only way to see the Kingdom of God move forward. How many failed churches might still be alive and well today if we didn’t pressure them to…